Updated Etrain Team Power Rankings: Week 1 (9/20)

By: Garrett Zatlin

PAST RANKINGS THIS SEASON
Preseason (9/11)
Week 1 (9/20)
Week 2 (9/28)
Week 3 (10/5)
Week 4 (10/12)-- No changes
Week 5 (10/19)
Week 6 (10/26)-- No changes
Week 7 (11/2)
Week 8 (11/9)-- No changes
Week 9 (11/16)
Week 10 (12/5)

KEY

·      Bold: Had performance or important piece of news that influenced a strong change in the rankings

·      (#/#): First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings. A plus (with green) means they have improved in the rankings. A minus (with red) means they have regressed in the rankings. The second number indicates where they were ranked the week before

·      (Wasn’t Ranked): Was not ranked the week before.

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#25 Illinois Fighting Illini (0/25)

#24 Villanova Wildcats (0/24)
-Comber and Marston have been performing well for the Wildcats as of late. Still no sign of Tiernan, but we probably wont see him until Paul Short.

#23 Eastern Michigan Eagles (0/23)
-EMU finished 3rd at the MSU invite behind Michigan State (1st) and Grand Valley State (2nd). They finished with a total score of 99 points while MSU and GVSU had 30 and 46 points respectively. It appears Nicholas Raymond didn't run which is probably a pretty big reason why we saw the gap we did among the top three teams. I do expect Eastern Michigan to be better, but it's early in the season and they were missing their top guy. I'll let it slide.

#22 Michigan State Spartans (-3/19)
-Nice performance by the Spartans at their own meet. They ran very well and showed that they could flex their depth. Sherod Hardt is the real deal and so is Ryan Robinson. They could make a geat 1-2 punch.

The only problem? According to a very reliable source, it turns out that TJ Carey has dropped from the team and will no longer be running for MSU. That is a big loss for the Spartans and one that is too big to ignore. That is why they drop in the rankings.

#21 Iowa State Cyclones (+1/22)

#20 Oklahoma State Cowboys (+1/21)

#19 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (+1/20)

#18 Boise State Broncos (0/18)

#17 Washington Huskies (-2/15)
#16 Washington State Cougars (+1/17)
-It was a battle between these two rivals at the Sundodger Invite. Gilbert took the individual crown, but Washington State's incredible pack running got them the team win.

Washington could argue that they didn't run Huxham and that's why they lost. But if you look at the results, you'll see that John Whelan (WSU's #2) was 4th overall running unattached (so he doesn't count towards the team score). Washington State beating Washington without Whelan is super impressive and it just goes to show how deep the Cougars are.

#15 Indiana Hoosiers (+1/16)
-The big news is that Schwartzer is healthy and that the rest of the depth hasn't shown anything to worry about. For the few opening meets, the pack running has been solid and freshman Ben Veatch looks ready.

#14 Eastern Kentucky Colonials (0/14)

#13 BYU Cougars (0/13)

#12 Wisconsin Badgers (0/12) 
-The Badgers cruised their own home invite two weekends ago with McDonald and Schrobilgen crossing the line together to go 1-2. Olin Hacker and Zach Snider also looked good in their season debut.

#11 Furman Paladins (0/11)
-We haven't seen the scorers like Hinkle or Templeton run yet, but their depth has been fine so far. Frank Lara seems to be the real deal.

#10 Virginia Cavaliers (0/10)
-Virginia took 3rd this past weekend at the Adidas XC Challenge after losing the runner-up position to NC State on a tie-breaker. Florida State got the win.

It's certainly nothing to worry about for UVA and I'm not going lower their ranking since there were multiple guys that they didn't run (including Henry Wynne). Still, I expected a little more out of that Virginia depth and Chase Weaverling.

#9 Colorado State Rams (0/9)

#8 Norther Arizona Lumberjacks (0/8)

#7 Arkansas Razorbacks (0/7)
-The Razorbacks placed 3rd at Beantown this past weekend after not running Jack Bruce, Christian Heymsfield, Austen Dalquist, or Andrew Ronoh.

Alex George got the individual win while Tonui placed 8th. I expected a little more out of the Arkansas depth, but 3rd place will have to do. Dartmouth and Providence are both respectable programs.

#6 Colorado Buffaloes (0/6)

#5 Iona Gaels (0/5)

#4 Stanford Cardinals (0/4)

#3 Georgetown Hoyas (0/3)

#2 Oregon Ducks (0/2)

-Prakel and Anderson went 1-2 at the Bill Dellinger Invite which seemed to be more of a workout than a race for these guys. I did, however, expect Leingang and Neuman to cruise in with those guys and get a clean sweep. Instead, both seemed to have slightly off day and fell back a few spots.

Cheserek and Maton were held out of the meet.

#1 Syracuse Orangemen (0/1)

-Syracuse showed why they were the favorites to defend their title two weeks ago at Spiked Shoe. They took the top three spots without Knight or Bennie and seemed to have figured out who will fill that 5th man void (Iliass Aounai). 

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Just Missed 

Oklahoma Sooners

Penn Quakers

Mississippi Rebels

Portland Pilots

UTEP Miners

Who To Watch

Florida State Seminoles
Dartmouth Big Green
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
NC State Wolfpack
Providence Friars

Kicked Off
N/A

New Additions
N/A

Biggest Surprise of the Week
Washington State Cougars

Team of the Week
Syracuse Orangemen

Notes

-As I mentioned in the top 50 rankings, it's still very early in the season and a lot of teams are holding back. Next week will be more exciting.
-Washington State earns "Surprise of the Week" honors after upsetting rival Washington.
-Syracuse earns "Team of the Week" after not only dominating Spiked Shoe, but for also finding a reliable 5th man.